Nebraska lost their last non-conference men's basketball game of the season as the Cincinnati Bearcats pulled away late for a 15-point win.
Terran Petteway had 22 points despite sitting for much of the first half as he started the game with two fouls within the first two minutes of play. Ray Gallegos tied high season high with 18 points, including four threes. Petteway and Gallegos were the only two Huskers in double digits scoring as the next highest scorers were Leslee Smith with eight and Tai Webster with seven.
The Huskers had a hard time finishing shots inside, scoring only 14 in the paint, and had a hard time defending them as well as the Bearcats scored 34 from the same range. Justin Jackson hurt the Huskers inside, finishing with 15 points, 10 rebounds and four blocks.
Sean Kilpatrick lead Cincy with 21 points, going 17-of-18 from the foul line. His 17 free throws fell one short of most opponent free throws in a game, a mark set by Wilt Chamberlain in 1958. Kilpatrick earned so many foul calls that at one point the announcers made the remark that he was getting the "NBA star treatment".
Nebraska played well enough without Petteway most of the first half, but Cincinnati went on a 13-3 run to stretch their lead to 31-21. The Bearcats lead 35-27 at the break.
Nebraska made a run, cutting the Bearats lead to 47-44, but was unable to retain momentum as they reeled off four straight points to extend the lead back to seven.
The Huskers made one more late 9-2 run to cut the lead to ten at 67-57 with 2:46 left. The rest of the game were Huskers taking shots and Bearcats making free throws.
Nebraska's 59 points were its lowest offensive output of the season as was the shooting percentage of 35.7%. Cincinnati outrebounded the Huskers 40-30.
Nebraska's next game begins the start of Big Ten Conference play as they take on Iowa on New Year's Eve.